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Could probiotics help with ADHD?

Chocolate, plain or probiotic? Would that third choice of milk variety at snack time give kids with ADHD and anxiety (and their teachers) an easier afternoon? A team of Canadian researchers hopes to find out. Their study will involve kids ages six to 16 with anxiety and ADHD. CBCnews.ca noted the research.

"There's been some past research that's shown benefits of probiotics on depression and anxiety in adults and there's also a link between the gut and the brain called the gut-brain axis," Anne Baccardax, a master’s student in clinical psychology at Acadia University, told CBC. “We're theorizing that probiotics can help restore balance within the gut and in turn help some psychological symptoms," she said.

David Walker, a senior project executive with the Department of Agriculture, Aquaculture and Fisheries and executive director of the nonprofit organization Milk 2020, which is sponsoring the research, said the industry is eagerly awaiting the study's results.

Milk 2020 was set up by the province's dairy producers and processors with the objective of bringing more research and development, and innovation to the dairy industry.

"We would like to see the results of the study and hope that it indicates that consuming a probiotic using milk as the delivery mechanism would help reduce the effects of anxiety and ADHD in children. It would be a win-win for society."